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Saturday, August 31, 2013

Since Daddy had organized a racquetball session in Coos Bay, I decided last Sunday would be a good coastal exploration day for Esmé and I.

We’ve been to Sunset Bay numerous times, but this time I decided to drive right past it to the end of the road - Cape Arago - and see what there was to see, since it was a memorable spot for Captain James Cook and maybe even Sir Frances Drake.

There wasn’t much to see. It was a misty, rainy day, definitely not a day to take beautiful coastal photos, though I took some anyway. Indulge me…

So the view wasn’t great, but there was plenty to hear! Miss Esmé was doing her teen thing – refusing to turn off her mp3 player, but even she heard how loud things were… Critters were yapping and barking down in that water in glorious cacophony.

Teen or not, I made her get out of the car and walk the plank path for better ocean views. And we watched a happy blubbery thing cavorting in the water, having the time of its life.

Heading back just a bit, we stopped at Simpson Reef.

The board said: “This area is the best location on the Oregon Coast for pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) to haul out of the ocean.” Sounds like a good place to hear more cacophony, no? I didn’t have binoculars, so can’t tell you what these are, but apparently Steller sea lions, northern elephant seals, California sea Lions, harbor seals, and occasionally gray whales and orcas hang out at the reef.

We stopped at the Charleston Visitor Center on our way back to the athletic club. I wanted to check out potential future adventures in the area, since Coos Bay trips for racquetball are a regular occurrence…

And lo and behold, there were these delectable cranberry sweets to sample at the visitor center – even Esmé likes cranberries in this form!

A nice wrap up to the trip – and I was amused to discover the candy factory was just two buildings down from the athletic club, so we will definitely need to organize a factory tour as one of our adventures.